News

Bacup war grave clean-up operation launched

VETERANS have begun work to restore 120 First World War graves in Bacup.

Operation War Graves 100, spearheaded by Haslingden-based charity Veterans in Communities (VIC), will see all military headstones in Bacup Cemetery marked with details of the deceased.

Soldiers will also be remembered with the burial of a time capsule containing wartime letters and newspapers.

Students and members of Lancashire Community Payback will help volunteers plant poppies and erect plants in the cemetery.

Steve Butterworth, an outreach worker for VIC, said the work was being done to ‘ensure the memories of those who fought and died in the First World War are properly honoured’.

The time capsule will contain instructions for it to be dug up in 100 years time so that people in 2114 can discover that sacrifices made by their ancestors.

Mr Butterworth, whose great uncle Enoch died in Ypres in 1917, said: “We know of 120 graves that are in the cemetery and we have had meetings with Rossendale Council to discuss the work that we are doing. The council has also provided a detailed map to help with locating the graves.

“We have had new plaques made by Chiselhursts in Bacup with the soldier’s name, rank and date of death and we will be installing these on a concrete plinth. We will also be planting poppies on the graves of those who fell.

“We want people to be aware of the work that we will be carrying out in Bacup Cemetery for the next six months and we will be putting signs on the cemetery gates and notices at the library so people understand what we are doing.”

VIC hopes to have all the memorial stones in place in time for Remembrance Sunday.

The organisation’s manager, Bob Elliott, said: “VIC will soon be very visible working in Bacup Cemetery and we want to reassure all families who have loved ones in the cemetery that the work will be carried out to the highest of standards and with the utmost respect for all who have been laid to rest in the cemetery.”

Among the items in the time capsule will be a letter appealing for food parcels for the forces from Grove Mill in Bacup in 1915.

Comments (9)

its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .noddy57

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?2 for 5p ridesagain

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.Chris P Bacon

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.

[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.[/p][/quote]Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.2 for 5p ridesagain

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.

As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.

We're waiting.

[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.[/p][/quote]Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.[/p][/quote]As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.
We're waiting.Chris P Bacon

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.

As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.

We're waiting.

Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you

[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.[/p][/quote]Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.[/p][/quote]As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.
We're waiting.[/p][/quote]Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you2 for 5p ridesagain

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.

As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.

We're waiting.

Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you

[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.[/p][/quote]Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.[/p][/quote]As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.
We're waiting.[/p][/quote]Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you2 for 5p ridesagain

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.

As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.

We're waiting.

Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you

[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Chris P Bacon[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p ridesagain[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Hey Noddy pleases explain to me what exactly did they sacrifice everything for. ?[/p][/quote]So that you didn't have to speak German you thankless waste of DNA.[/p][/quote]Oh what a load of old cobblers you do speak.
So do you suggest that the ww1 where millions died was all over a language education policy.
Oh what a dork you are.[/p][/quote]As a world-renowned historian, you'll educate us on the causes of the war.
We're waiting.[/p][/quote]Hey dork we are still waiting for your answer.
You don't know do you2 for 5p ridesagain

noddy57 wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .

Whilst I wont dispute your comment about the sacrifices made. Your wrong about the work being carried out in Bacup Cemetery, it has nothing to do with the current media coverage of the Great War, Back in 2013 I published a book called Where Heroes Rest. The book tells the stories of the 60 Great War soldiers who have war grave status buried in Bacup Cemetery along with the stories of a further 60+ that are commemorated on family headstones in the cemetery but are buried elsewhere ie France, Gallipoli etc. I wrote the book because I found a collection of unidentified photographs in a drawer of Great War soldiers, one of them I eventually identified and then shortly after came across his grave, and almost next to his were several others. I then decided I wanted to tell their stories. Hence the book which took two + years to research. My book was read by ex Stacksteads Councillor Michael McShae who like me was dismayed to find that many of the graves although classed as Commonwealth War Graves were unmarked and in a poor state. He approached VIC to see if they were interested in doing something with the graves. So the plan to sort out the Bacup Cemetery war graves was in the pipeline long before the media coverage of this year. :)

[quote][p][bold]noddy57[/bold] wrote:
its such a shame that these soldiers who died fighting for this country have been largely forgotten and its only due the the current media coverage of the great war that the renewed interest of these graves has come about. if you look at the commonwealth war graves which are maintained to a very high standard, there is no excuse for this neglect of our young soldiers who sacrificed everything .[/p][/quote]Whilst I wont dispute your comment about the sacrifices made. Your wrong about the work being carried out in Bacup Cemetery, it has nothing to do with the current media coverage of the Great War, Back in 2013 I published a book called Where Heroes Rest. The book tells the stories of the 60 Great War soldiers who have war grave status buried in Bacup Cemetery along with the stories of a further 60+ that are commemorated on family headstones in the cemetery but are buried elsewhere ie France, Gallipoli etc. I wrote the book because I found a collection of unidentified photographs in a drawer of Great War soldiers, one of them I eventually identified and then shortly after came across his grave, and almost next to his were several others. I then decided I wanted to tell their stories. Hence the book which took two + years to research. My book was read by ex Stacksteads Councillor Michael McShae who like me was dismayed to find that many of the graves although classed as Commonwealth War Graves were unmarked and in a poor state. He approached VIC to see if they were interested in doing something with the graves. So the plan to sort out the Bacup Cemetery war graves was in the pipeline long before the media coverage of this year. :)jaseslady66